The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Corylus plant, (hazelnut, filbert) botanically known as Corylus avellana, and hereinafter referred to by the name ‘Felix’. Corylus avellana is in the family Betulaceae.
The new Corylus resulted from a controlled cross of female parent OSU 384.095 (unpatented) and male parent ‘Delta’ (unpatented) made in 1998 by Shawn A. Mehlenbacher and David C. Smith. Hybrid seeds from the cross were harvested in August 1998, stratified, and seedlings grown in the greenhouse during the summer of 1999. From this cross, total of 157 seedling trees were planted in the field in Corvallis, Oreg., USA in October, 1999. ‘Felix’ was discovered and selected by the Inventors as a single plant within the progeny of the stated cross-pollination in a controlled environment in Corvallis, Oreg. ‘Felix’ was originally assigned the designation OSU 941.016, which indicates the row and tree location of the original seedling. ‘Delta’ (unpatented) was released by the Oregon Agricultural Experiment Station in 2002. OSU 384.095 (unpatented) is from a cross of ‘Casina’ x OSU 55.129 (both unpatented). OSU 55.129 is from a cross of ‘Tonda Gentile delle Langhe’ (unpatented)×‘Extra Ghiaghli’ (unpatented). The pedigree of ‘Felix’ includes ‘Casina’ from Asturias, Spain, ‘Tonda Gentile delle Langhe’ from Piemonte, northern Italy, and ‘Extra Ghiaghli’, which is a clone of the important Turkish cultivar ‘Tombul’ (unpatented).
The new cultivar was asexually reproduced by rooted suckers annually for five years (2005-2006 and 2008-2010) in Corvallis, Oreg. The new cultivar was also asexually propagated by whip grafting in Corvallis, Oreg. The unique features of this new Corylus are stable and reproduced true-to-type in successive generations of asexual reproduction.